Jose Mourinho set to avoid FA punishment after claims of 'campaign' against Chelsea

Jose Mourinho appears likely to escape Football Association sanctions for claiming Chelsea are the victims of a clear campaign after referee Anthony Taylor booked Cesc Fabregas for diving.

Mourinho was adamant the Premier League leaders should have had a potentially match-defining penalty early in the second half of Sunday's 1-1 draw at Southampton, when Fabregas went down under pressure from Matt Targett.

Instead of a spot-kick, however, referee Taylor deemed it a dive and booked the infuriated Spanish midfielder - part of a what Mourinho believes is a growing movement against his side.

The Chelsea boss watched his words carefully, though, and is expected to escape disciplinary action.

Chelsea's potential 'ins and outs' during the January transfer window

Chelsea's potential 'ins and outs' during the January transfer window

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OUT: Kurt Zouma

Reports in Turkey suggest that Besiktas are confident they have agreed a loan deal with Chelsea for the France Under-21 defender.
Zouma has been playing second fiddle to John Terry and Gary Cahill in central defence, making just six starts.
However, Mourinho rates the 20-year-old highly and needs him as back-up to the English duo. If he was allowed to leave, Mourinho would have to bring someone else in, which is counter productive.

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"I am happy that it is this way, with respect for the referee. He made a big mistake like I make, like the players make sometimes."

Chelsea have found themselves at the heart of the simulation debate in recent weeks, with Diego Costa and Willian booked for supposedly taking a tumble in the win against Hull.

After that match Steve Bruce compared a Gary Cahill dive as "like something out of Swan Lake" and West Ham manager Sam Allardyce accused Branislav Ivanovic of going down "looking for a penalty" on Boxing Day.

Asked if the Cahill and Ivanovic incidents had influenced referees, Mourinho said: "They are not incidents, they are not incidents.

"People, pundits, commentators, coaches from other teams - they react with Chelsea in a way they don't react to other teams.

"They put lots of pressure on the referee and the referee makes a mistake like this. We lose two points, Fabregas earns a yellow card."

Mourinho made those comments to the BBC and let loose again in the post-match press conference. The Portuguese said this has been an issue since the first day of the season, when Costa was wrongly booked for a dive against Burnley, and called for a change to the system.

"The double punishment is something unbelievable," Mourinho said.

"Anthony [should go to a] screen, see that he has made a mistake - he is a good guy, an honest guy.

"He writes 'I made a mistake, let's clean the yellow card for Cesc'. It should be a simple process."